saegent



` pose of holding thefwool. l Fig. is a sec-1 tion showing an arrangement of the nippers 1 y 2o y z 1i where they have indentation, intended more l `To @ZZ whom t may concern CHARLES G. SABGENT, OF LOWLL, MASSACIHUSETTS;1

` MACHINERY Fon coMBrNe woor..

Spcification of `Letters Patent N0.u11,534, datedAugust 15,` 1854.`

Be it known that LCHARLES SARGENT, of Lowell, in the countyof Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented cer-j tain new and useful Improvements in Ma-l chines for Combing and Staphng IVool, of

which the following is al full, clear,` and eX- act description, reference bemgphad to the `this* specification, inw ich-` accompanying drawin s, makingpart of Figure l i's a `View of the machine` taken` from the end upon which the drawing offI rollersare placed. Fig. `Qiis a viewof the, op osite-end. Fig.` 3, isa sectionof the re-` `vo ving nipper apparatus, `with :the `feed` rolls, combing 1 cylinder and chain lcomb..

Fig. I is a section similar to `the above;` thc `nippers being replaced by teeth for the pur securely to hold the wool. i Fig.` `6 1s a plan; Fig. `a back view ofthe machine. i y In the machines heretofore contrived for `the purposeofcombing wool, the fibers are either'wvholly or partially `combed before `they-leave the main -body ofthe `material "which is being fed` into the machine..` `In my lMy invention.alsoconsists in causing the `pincers oi nippers" which `draw out and staple the `wool to `revolve continuously, any suitable number `of; them being brought up 'in succession to -thefeed rolls, by which f, lmeans :the various operations ofthe combing process are caused to proceed simultanefously upon different portions of material,

machine `the wool is pulled out from the main lot-and stapled in small successive portions before the operation of combing com-y mences, by which 'means the fibers are drawn out and laid lengthwise, which muclinfacilitates` the subsequent operation of combwithout the `necessity which has heretofore existed, of performing them one at a time,

4allthefothers being `for the time uinte`r` rupted; Itis evidentthat the withdrawing of the separate portions from the feeding rollers Vmust be an intermittent. operation,

and itfhas been `my aim to make this :inter` l mittentlmovement approach as nearly as possible to a continuous one, as the material is to beidelivered from the machine continuously-man unbroken sliver.

To enable others lin theart to maire and use mennen F'Ilwiu pmeeeda te describe the manner in which I have carried it i ouh-like lparts being designated-by the same letters in the several drawings. 1` I will first describe the `manner in which the principal parts of the machine are set in mothe subject of `my present invention, and

"lastlythe general operation of the machine.

A, is themain drivingshaft. ais a pinion i upon this shaft, -which gears with thepinion B, which drives the cog-wheel '5, ,upon the shaft .Cf of the nipper cylinder C.` The wheel b, engages with the cog-wheel `D, which` drives` the cog-wheel E, upon `the shaft ofzoneof thefeed rolls. H, H, and also `tion,-then the improvements which form the cog-wheel i F-upondthe shaft of` the i 1 .combingcylinderR.4 l .i

I, is an endless'feeding apron which is actuated as follows j, `is a Cog-wheel `upon the lower rollI-I, which gears with the in.-

termed-iate cog-wheel j', which drives `the `cog-wheel jg upon oneof the carrying rollers ofthe apron I. i l t y y K, is a roller` at the delivery end ofthe apromuponzwhich 1t bears withits own weight only, being at liberty to rise and ffall freely as the wool is drawn out from `beneathit l Sais a `Chain comb which is operated in `the following manner; this chain` is carried by the sprocket wheel A', and the plain i grooveduvheel B. C isa pinion uponthe mainshaft A, which drvesithe cog-wheel `D upon the shaft E, which is carried by ,arms X, which project from that portion of `the frameof the machine Y, which carries the chain comb. This `shaft ,carries a beveled pinion F', which drives Athe bevel wheel G upon the sh'aft of the sprocket wheelqA.

Gr, arelthe drawings `off rollers which-run `in suitable bearings I-II, projectingnfrom 1i.

the frame work Y, `which carries the endless chain comb SL These rolls are pressed `up togetherby :the springs K and are actuated in the following` manner y:

. L isy apulley upon the maindrivingV which carriesya band; M, which passes over guide pulleys N', and around the pulley O' upQn the shaft of `one ofthe dra-wingof "rollers G.

` I Vwill now` describe vthe peculiar ,construction of thenippers which I have `adollted for the purpose of stapl-ingthe -woofl previous :to itsbei-ng combed, and of holding it While i l' 31S@- 511B hold upon the material.

are the jaws of the nippers attached to rods M, which run the whole length of the nipper cylinder. These rods are connected together by cog wheels f atoneend asseen in Fig. 2, by which means the rods are caused to vibrate together in opposite directions. N, are arms attached to the rods M, and bearing rollers e which restupon the periphery of a cam O, Fig. l. The springs L, serve the purpose of keeping `the rollers e, down upon fthe cam and the nippers open, except when they are closed by the cam. The cam O, is loose uponthe shaft of the nipperv cylinder, and has attached to it `an arm P,

which carries a pin which plays ina groove g of .the cam Q seen detached at A Fig. 1.'

Thiscam is attached to the ,main'driving shaft A,and revolves'with it:v As the nippersapproach'the delivering end of the feeding apron they are open, and on arriving at this point by .the'sudden motion of thev cam O, which is revolved as before described by the camtl, they vare closed upon'the vprojecting ends ofthe wool as seen in F 3.` As the nipper cylindercontinues to' revolve; all those fibers which are yheld :by the nippers are drawn out lengthwiseand stapled, the'` roller K, rising sufficientlyy to permit their escape, and the rollers H being at a distance from the roller Kv a little greater thanfthe length of staple of lthev material, that those fibers not gripped by the nippers may be retained by the rollers H, H, and none of them may be broken." The wool thus stapled is carried up to the revolving combing cylin-y der R by which itis'combed, andv over'to thef opposite side of the cylinder, the wool being.I 'deposited' upon the V'endless .chainv comb S,

and' the next instant the nippers are thrown open by the revolution of the cam O -whichl 'releases the arms N, and permits the nippers to beoperated upon bythe springs L. In

somecasesit maybe `necessary to corrugate thegripping surfaces of the nippersy as seen in Fig. 5, to enable them to take a better "In Fig. 4 is represented a form of carrier which I propose to make use of whenl operating upon some kinds of long stapled` material, for l'which I consider it to be morel suitable than the nippers. "a'ry bar"having a slot running through its whole length, fw', is almovable bar which carries several rows of teeth V placed closely together, and which, when the two bars are brought together, pass through the slot in the'stationary bar w, and into and through the 'projecting ends of the wool, as they pass the delivery end of the feed rollers, draw,-

vingjout'the fibers carrying them up to Lt'he combing cylinder. fop'pos'ites'ide" of the .cylinder the wool Ais Id 'eposited asbefore upon the endless comb 'L S, andthe nextinstant by the .motionofr the "camfO,'"th'e spring L, allowed tovv act On arrival at the fw, is a station-' upon the bar w, and its teeth ,being sudn i denly withdrawn through the slot Yin the other one, are freed from the material whichv theyV carry, and the `latter is carried on", by the chain comb as before. T is a brush which descends upon the wool, as it is placed upon the chain comb by the revolving nippers, and which is actuated as follows. u, is a shaft which revolves in the standards P', and to which is attached'the arms u',-

which carry the brush.V u2 is an arm projecting from the shaft u, which is connected tothe bent lever M3, by the arm M4. The lever a3, is pivoted at the pointV Q, and ,is

the teeth of the chain comb taking place simultaneously, being both operated by lthe same device viz, the lever P, set inmotion by the cam Q. x

`descent` of thebrush to crowd the wool upon Operationz The wool having been prej.

paredv by carding' or otherwise is passed'in between the forward pair of feeding rollers H, which deliver the wool to the Afeeding apron I carried by the rollers K. On` the arrival'of the nippers'at the delivering end of the feed apron vthey are closed. upon the projecting tuft of wool as seen in Fig. 3.

The nippers are represented in Fig. 5 in the act of being closed. As the nipper cylinder continues to revolve each nipper draws out and staples a portion. of thewoolfrom ofl the feed apron, the roller `K, pressing but lightlyupon the material 05ers no resistance to this operation, the distance between 'the feed rollers H, and the roller K, being as before'stated alittle greater than the length `of staple of the wool inrorder that all the vfibers seized'by the nippers may be drawn lout without being broken while those which have not yet escaped from the rolls ,H, shall be retained, the fibers are thusv straightened out by this stapling operation previous ,to the commencement ofthe combing. `The nippers then passup and the wool' so stapled is brought into .contact with the teeth of f the combing cylinder R, by which: ity is combed, and the short loose fibers separated n fromit. As the cylinder C, continues to revolve the staple of wool is deposited upon the endless chain comb S, and-the neXt`instant the nippers are opened and the brush T is depressed by` the motion of the cam O, andthe staple having the ends vWhich profject' from the nippers combed is carried for.-

ward to the-drawing'oif roll's Gc, 'Which-,take

it fronrithe chain comb and deliverzit in a sliver ready for use. That portion of the tuft of wool ai Figs. 3 and 4 which remained in the nippers while the balance was being combed by the teeth of the comb cylinder R, is combed by the teeth of the chain comb as it is drawn oif by the rolls G. The noil left upon the chain comb is removed in the customary manner.

It will be perceived that by the preliminary stapling operation above described the fibers of the wool are all drawn out and laid lengthwise before the combing commences which greatly facilitates the latter operation while by the continuous motion of the nipper cylinder the various operations are proceeding simultaneously without` interruption, the feeding of the material to the machine, the stapling or drawing out, the combing, the delivering to the endless chain comb, and the drawing ofi" of the perfect sliver therefrom, all proceeding at one and the same time upon different portions of Woolf; no operation being interrupted to allow the performance of another `and no time being lost in retrograde movements. These peculiarities while they enable my machine to perform many times more work than those heretofore in use for the purpose render it far less complicated than they are and less liable to get out of order.

I have described the nipper cylinder as containing but four nippers-it is evident however that a greater number may be employed, the size of the nipper cylinder being increased in accordance.

It is evident that the shaft which carries the cam Q, by which the cam O, is operated for the purpose of opening and closing the nippers must make as many revolutions to one of the nipper cylinder as there :are nippers upon this cylinder, or the form of the cam Q, may be modied so as to give more than one motion out and in for each revolution of its shaft.

` The auxiliary cam Q is employed to give motion to the cam O, at the instant the nippers are to be closed, in order that the latter operation may be performed suddenly, notwithstanding the slow motion of the cylinder which carries the nippers.

That I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent isl. Drawing out and stapling the material as set forth previous to commencing the combing operation.

2. I claim the continuous motion of the nippers or other parts `which operate upon the wool, whereby I am enabled to keep aV i number of them in operation at the same time, the dierent steps in the process proceeding simultaneously upon different portions of the material, without ithe necessity of interrupting any one of them for the performance of another, and without retrograde motion of any of the parts of the machine.

3. I claim the method herein described of opening and closing the nippers by means of the cam() in combination with the cam Q or its equivalent, whereby the nippers are closed suddenly upon the wool, Whatever may be the rate of motion of the nipper cyl inder.

CI-IAS. G. SARG-ENT.

Witnesses:

Isaac S. MORSE, ALBE C. CLARK. 

